Web-based groupware system

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing a communication network. The system comprises a network-connected server having input and access capabilities, a site builder, a transmitter, a communicator, and memory. The site-builder receives instructions input from a first user and creates a dedicated network site based on the received instructions. The transmitter communicates the existence of the dedicated network site to a nominated second user. The communicator provides accesses to the contents of the dedicated network site by the first and second users. The memory stores information input by the first and the second user in the dedicated network site.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/768,387, filed Apr. 27, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/037,679, filed Feb. 26, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No.7,734,694, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/044,830, filed Jan. 26, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,523,162, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/590,099 filed Jun. 9, 2000,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,917,962, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/195,905 filed Nov. 19, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,223,177, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.08/955,569 filed Oct. 22, 1997, now abandoned, and which claims priorityto Canadian Patent Application Serial No. 2,221,790 filed on Nov. 19,1997, the contents of which are expressly incorporated by referenceherein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of collaborative softwaresystems. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and methodfor providing network-based groupware functionality.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Recently, the need for collaborative computing environments has beenreceiving increasing attention. People are finding that it is more andmore important to share information and work together to meet commongoals. With increasing specialization in the marketplace, there isfrequent need to work together with people from different offices,different organizations and even different countries to satisfy therequirements of a particular project or goal. Managing collaborativeinitiatives of this type is not a simple matter.

Electronic network based, project management server systems are known.For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,506 [Srinivasan] discloses anautomated, electronic network based, project management server systemfor managing multiple work groups. The system comprises a core piece ofsoftware which runs on a host server computer system and interacts witha messaging system such as E-mail or facsimile. The system compilesmulti-project plans into a multi-project database and tracks theownership of projects, tasks and resources within the plans. The systemautomatically checks all resource requests and if resource availabilitylimits are exceeded then resources are allocated on projects based onpriorities and project plans are changed accordingly. The system is alsoprogrammed to send out reminders and follow-ups and the databases arecontinuously updated based on status changes reported by work groupmembers.

One of the disadvantages of known electronic network-based,collaborative server systems is that they depend on InformationTechnology specialists or a system administrator to administer controlof the system, i.e., if a user wishes to add functionality to a system,they must have access to the program itself. Further, many collaborativesystems require each user to have specialized software installed ontheir computer.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate and mitigate atleast one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in one of its aspects, the present invention provides asystem for providing a communication system, the system comprising:

-   -   (i) a network-connected server having input and access        capabilities;    -   (ii) a site-builder for receiving instructions input from a        first user and for creating a dedicated network site based on        said received instructions;    -   (iii) a transmitter for communicating existence of said        dedicated network site to a nominated second user;    -   (iv) a communicator for accessing contents of said dedicated        network site by said first and said second users; and    -   (v) memory for storing information input by said first and said        second user at said dedicated network site.

In another aspect the present invention provides a system to provide ateam of users with intranet-based groupware functionality, comprising:

-   -   (i) a network-connected server capable of receiving an initiate        instruction from a primary user;    -   (ii) a site builder for creating a dedicated site on said server        in response to said initiate instruction;    -   (iii) a transmitter for sending information about the existence        of said dedicated site to at least one secondary user nominated        by said primary user;    -   (iv) a communicator for transmitting information between said        dedicated site, said primary user and said at least one        secondary user;    -   (v) memory for storing information at said dedicated site, said        information from said primary and said at least one secondary        user;    -   (vi) a processor for processing said information stored at said        dedicated site said processed information being transmitted by        said communicator to said primary user and said at least one        secondary user.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method forproviding a communication network, comprising:

-   -   (i) providing an network-connected server having upload and        download capabilities;    -   (ii) receiving instructions uploaded from a first user and for        creating a dedicated network site on said server, said dedicated        network site having a unique name based on instructions        received;    -   (iii) communicating the existence of said dedicated intranet        site to a nominated second user;    -   (iv) downloading contents of said dedicated network site to said        first and second users;    -   (v) storing information in the dedicated web-site.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a computerconfigured to operate a groupware application program, the computercomprising:

-   -   (i) a network for connecting to at least a primary and a        secondary user;    -   (ii) a site builder for receiving instructions input from said        primary user and for creating a dedicated site within the        computer based on said instructions;    -   (iii) a mailer for looking up an address of said secondary user        from an address database;    -   (iv) a communicator for communicating the existence of said        dedicated site to said secondary user;    -   (v) memory for storing information at said dedicated site at the        request of the primary and the secondary user; and    -   (vi) a processor for processing said stored information at the        request of the primary and the secondary user.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a data carrierhaving thereon a computer program for performing the steps of:

-   -   (i) facilitating communication between a server, a primary user        and a secondary user;    -   (ii) creating a dedicated site within the server based on        instructions input from the primary user;    -   (iii) looking up address of the secondary user from an address        database;    -   (iv) communicating the existence of the dedicated site to the        secondary user;    -   (v) storing information at the dedicated site at the request of        the primary and the secondary user; and    -   (vi) processing the stored information at the request of the        primary and the secondary user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart outlining the operation of the system;

FIGS. 3 a-3 e are reproductions of user screens from a communicationnetwork created in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the system according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an advisor graphical user interface;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a client graphical user interface;

FIGS. 7-14 are flow charts illustration the functionality of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A system to provide a team of users with intranet-based groupwarefunctionality in accordance with an embodiment of the present inventionis shown schematically in FIG. 1.

The system generally comprises at least one server computer as anintranet connected server 10 which supports a TCP/IP protocol and whichhas input and access capabilities via two-way communication lines, suchas communication lines 15 and 20. The computer is configured as a webserver. Server 10 has a unique resource locator (URL) address andcomprises a means to create a dedicated intranet site 25 (e.g. Site #4)on the server in response to an initiate request received from a primaryuser 30. Dedicated site 25 has a unique address which identifies it withthe primary user 30 (e.g., #4) within server 10. Server 10 furthercomprises a means to send information, including its URL address and theunique address of the dedicated site, to at least one secondary user 40,nominated by the primary user 30.

Both primary user 30 and secondary user 40 can communicate with server10 by means of an HTML compliant client supporting a graphical userinterface and internet browser, such as Netscape Navigator™ or MicrosoftExplorer™, i.e., there is no requirement that either primary user 30 orsecondary user 40 have access to specialized software applications inorder to utilize the system of the present invention. Information on thesite 25 is credited as a hypertext document and is thus displayed as aweb page on the GVI of the user's web browser, with a link to thishypertext document.

Once connected to dedicated site 25 created on server 10, primary user30 and secondary user 40 both have access to at least some of theinformation stored at the site, the ability to access and process atleast some of the information and the ability to input and storeprocessed and/or new information. All the specialized software whichprovides the functional requirements to give primary user 30 andsecondary user 40 these abilities is provided by server 10 via dedicatedsite 25. Once again, primary user 30 and secondary user 40 do notrequire any specialized software applications other than a standardinternet browser.

Server 10 may be provided a number of general sites (e.g., Sites #1, #2,#3) which are automatically accessible to primary user 30 and secondaryuser 40; other sites (e.g., Site #6) which are accessible to only one ofthe users; and some sites (e.g., Site #7) which can only be accessed bya system administrator (not shown). The nature and purpose of thesedifferent sites will be described in more detail below.

It will be apparent that although the system of the present invention isprimarily intranet-based, the nature of communication lines, such asline 15 between server 10 and primary user 30, is not particularlylimited. An intranet is simply defined by its security parameters forthe connected users. Suitable intranet-adaptable communication linesinclude dedicated lines, public telephone networks, private telephonenetworks, satellite links, Ethernet links, etc. These communicationlines are already in place if primary user 30 and secondary user 40 haveexisting intranet access.

It is envisioned that server 10 may be connected to the internet as wellas an intranet. A suitable firewall (not shown) may be provided betweenthe intranet and external or intranet users. As will also be apparent inthis embodiment, the geographic locations of primary user 30, secondaryuser 40 and server 10 are only limited by internet accessibility, i.e.,all three need not be in the same city, county or even continent.

The dedicated site created in response to the initiate request can bethought of as being a private office suite within the semi-publicintranet.

The private office suite may be created on the server for a period oftime desired by the primary user, after which time the private suite canbe erased to free-up system resources. The private office suite comescomplete with all the application software required to permit groupactivity within the office. The primary user can construct a privateoffice suite to include the specific applications desired. Thus, anadvantage of the present system is that the user is provided with acustomizable, secure office suite in which the user and his/her teammembers can access applications software without the need for each teammember to have individual copies of each applications software.

The system of the present invention is “end-user friendly”, i.e.,neither primary user 30 nor secondary user 40 need specialist computerknowledge to make use of the system. There is no requirement for theprimary user to have an in-house Information Technology specialist.

The system of the present invention is further understood when describedby its mode of operation and with reference to FIG. 2.

In order to create a private office suite, a primary user uses his/herweb browser 110 to contact the intranet connected server. The serverconfirms the identity 120 of the primary user and directs the primaryuser to the system homepage 130. From the system homepage, the primaryuser can access his/her personal workspace 140.

Among other options which will be discussed below, the primary user hasthe option to enter an existing workgroup with a pre-defined dedicatedsite or to create a new workgroup with a new, unique dedicated site(150).

If the primary user wishes to enter an existing workgroup the serverpermits access to the pre-defined site (160).

If the primary user wishes to create new workgroup, he/she is providedwith a workgroup creation template (170) which permits the primary userto define parameters of the workgroup, such as the name of the workgroupand the site to be created, the scope of the project being undertaken,the number of team members, etc.

During completion of the template, the primary user is prompted toidentify the number and contact addresses of the group members, thetypes of user applications which are to be utilized during the projectand to provide a name for the dedicated site to be created.

Once this template has been completed, the server creates a dedicatedsite (180) having the name chosen by primary user. The administrationsub-system checks to see whether all the prospective group membersidentified by the primary user are listed on the existing intranet-userdatabase (190). If a prospective group member is an existing intranetuser, the server then sends details of the newly created dedicated siteto that member of the group (secondary user) (200). In a presentlypreferred embodiment, the server automatically creates a link betweeneach secondary user's personal workspace and the newly created dedicatedsite. Alternatively, the details of the web-site may be sent in the formof an E-mail message which provides each secondary user with the addressof the dedicated site, an invitation to join the workgroup and, ifapplicable, the password required for gaining access to the site (seelater).

If a prospective group member is not an existing intranet user, theadministration sub-system determines whether the primary user has theauthority to add external users (210). If the primary user does haveauthority to add external users, the server creates a personal workspacefor that user (220) and notifies the external user of the existence ofthe workgroup (230). Preferably, the notification is done by means ofE-mail, although other means, such as facsimile or pager, may also beused. Once authorized, an external user can contact the server via theinternet and the external user has access to the same operationalfunctionality as an intranet-connected user.

If the primary user does not have authority to add external users, arequest is sent to a designated system administrator who makes thedetermination whether the external user can be added to the newworkgroup (240). If approval is given, the system creates a personalworkspace for the external user as before (220), if the addition of theexternal user is not approved, the primary user (requestor) is advised(250).

Once the approved secondary users have been notified of the existence ofthe dedicated site, the workgroup remains operational until allworkgroup activities have been completed (260). When the primary userdecides that there is no longer a requirement for the workgroup, theworkgroup is closed (270) and the dedicated site may be deleted from theserver. Prior to closure and deletion of the dedicated site, primaryuser may be given the option of downloading and storing all the datafrom the site for archive purposes.

During the creation of a dedicated site, secondary user nomination,workgroup activity, closure of the workgroup and eventual deletion ofthe site, all the administrative details of the workgroup activity areautomatically fed into the administrative sub-system for processing. Theadministration sub-system controls all the day to day management of thesystem. It contains all the code and script required for workgroup sizemonitoring and database size monitoring. Further, the administrationsub-system is responsible for monitoring server traffic and hit countsand the control of the offering of additional subscriber applications.

Security is an important feature of most business activity and thesystem of the present invention provides many levels of security whichcan be selected by the primary user and/or system administrator to suithis/her individual needs. For example, a basic form of security is toprovide the dedicated site created with a password which must be enteredby both the primary user and the secondary users to gain access to theworkgroup. This password maybe the same for the primary user and all thesecondary users or every secondary user may be provided with a uniquepassword. Providing each secondary user with a unique password alsopermits primary user to set up different levels of information which canbe accessed within the workgroup by each secondary user, i.e., theworkgroup can be created on a “need to know” basis. Examples of othersecurity features include the ability of the primary user to decide: whohas the authority to add new secondary users to and/or delete existingsecondary users from the group after its creation; who has access to theadministrative records of the workgroup; and when and if passwordsand/or security levels are to be changed.

As will be apparent, there are many different types of workgroupactivities which can be performed on a system in accordance with thepresent invention. In fact, it is envisioned that the present systemcould be adapted to perform many of the tasks of conventional LAN- orWAN-based group collaboration systems. Preferred workgroup activityapplications of the present system include bulletin board, chat room,calendar, contact database, change control, event planner, groupdiscussion, issue management, project collaboration, presentationlibrary, decision survey in a box, NGS proposal development, documentmanager, and Your Own Custom Application.

A bulletin board is a common place for team members to post anythingthat might be of interest to the team. Discussion, file attachments, andbroadcast mail are available. Additionally, a number of views may beutilized to gain access to the information, including by date, byauthor, by type, etc.

A chat room is a real-time chat function for teams to schedulediscussions on the fly.

A calendar is a central calendar dedicated to the team, whereindividuals may add entries to keep track of milestones, issues andevents. It is presented in a dynamic view, i.e., 2 day, one week, twoweeks or one month.

A contact database is an application that allows groups to trackspecific contracts in a central place. The views allow sorting by name,company type, etc.

A change control is a workflow application that allows teams to requestand manage project changes.

An event planner is an application that is targeted at managing thedeliverables for an upcoming event. Team members can assign tasks andmilestones, broadcast mail to the stakeholders, and view a calendar in anumber of formats.

The group discussion is a complete collaborative application that offersgroups a central meeting place for the exchange of ideas.

Issue management is a workflow application that allows project teams toreport issues, notify the owners, and track the resolution.

Project collaboration is a complete project management tool thatprovides managers and team members a Web sit environment for creating,implementing and managing projects. Involv Project Collaboration alsoimports and exports Microsoft Project Plans.

Presentation Library is an application similar to document managementbut specific to storing presentation files for sales and marketing use.File attachments, descriptions and a variety of views make accessinginformation easier.

The Decision Survey in a Box is a survey application created by EmergingTechnology Solutions for Involv Intranet, Decision Survey allows forinstant creation of surveys for publishing and gathering data fromgroups on the Intranet or extranet.

NGS Proposal Development is a workflow application created by NexgenSolutions for Involv Intranet. This application allows all stakeholdersin the proposal development process to come together with contentquickly and effectively.

Document Manager is a central depository for posting and managing filesand documents of all types. Check in/Check out and decision historymakes this a powerful team tool.

Your Own Custom Application is a Domino application that can be offeredthrough the Involv Intranet Desktop for self-service.

An embodiment of the system of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3a-3 e. All the display screens of the system exemplified in FIGS. 3 a-3e have the appearance of a personal organizer, with an index “page”(300) on the left-hand side and a details “page” (310) on the right-handside. The index page is tabbed (320 a-320 d) for convenient organizationand ease of use. As will be apparent, the style of screen display is notlimited to this personal organizer style of display. Screen displays canbe customized to a user's preference.

FIG. 3 a shows a system homepage (130) as would be seen by a user uponaccessing the system. The system homepage may be used to provide linksto general access features such as news, library resources, phonedirectories, office procedure manuals, etc. From the system homepage, auser can also tab to their own personal workspace (320 b).

FIG. 3 b shows a typical personal workspace as seen by the owner. Theindex page provides links to the dedicated sites to which the owner hasaccess and also to some generic′ applications such a personal messaging,chat groups and E-mail.

FIG. 3 c shows a typical personal workspace as seen by a visitor. Thislevel of a personal workspace may be accessed to any intranet user orauthorized external user via the user's directory (Tab 320 c). In thisinstance, index page 300 provides links to other users, not to theperson's personal dedicated sites. The details page provides informationon, for example, contacting the users, the users' specialty and theuser's present availability.

FIG. 3 d shows an application menu (Tab 320 d) which can be utilized bya user to create dedicated sites and add users to a workgroup. Differentstyles of sites can be created, depending on the function of the site,e.g., Project Collaboration, Event Planning, Document Managing, etc. Thedetails page can be used to give a user an overview of each type ofworkgroup and provide a link to a template for creating the group. If auser creates a workgroup having a dedicated site, a link to that site isautomatically created on the index page 300 of a nominated secondaryuser's personal workspace (FIG. 3 b).

A further embodiment of the system described above is detailed below.The application relates to communication between a financial advisor(advisor) and a client, or group of clients. There are currently manytrading web sites on the Internet (such as E*Trade™, Ameritrade™ and thelike) where an individual, or client, can trade without going through anintermediary such as an advisor. Trading through these web sites issignificantly less expensive than trading though the advisor.

It is argued that the expertise of the advisor is beneficial to theclient and will provide the client with a larger profit despite thehigher commissions. Advisors are trained to provide investment adviceand have more experience and easier access to a larger volume ofresources than does a typical client. Furthermore, since most clients donot have the time or tools to watch the securities markets all day, itis possible that they may miss the best opportunity to make changes intheir financial position. An advisor is typically in a better positionto make decisions as events happen.

However, since conditions on the securities markets can change veryrapidly, the advisor currently needs to make a decision about whichclients should learn of the new conditions. Most likely, the advisorwill first inform the relevant high net-worth clients by telephone.Lower net-worth clients are normally not notified as quickly, if at all,although they represent the greater number of clients. It is typicallythese lower net-worth clients who are gravitating towards to the lowcommission trading web sites in order to save money for effectively thesame amount of service.

Accordingly, the advisor is provided with a system for consolidatinginformation and for providing relevant information to a client or groupof clients. FIG. 4 illustrates such a system, which is representedgenerally by the numeral 400. The system includes a three-tieredhierarchy including a brokerage 402, a plurality of advisors 404associated with the brokerage 402, and a plurality of clients 406associated with each advisor 404.

Each of the members of the hierarchy can communicate with each other ina manner that is determined by the business relationship between them.For example, the brokerage 402 can communicate with any of the advisors404 and any of the clients 406. The advisors 404 can communicate withthe brokerage 402 and their associated clients 406. The clients 406 cancommunicate with the brokerage 402 and their advisor 404, but not otherclients 406. Alternately, it is possible for an advisor 404 tocommunicate with any client 406 (not shown), and for an advisor 404 tocommunicate with other advisors 404 (not shown). A person skilled in theart will appreciate various relationships between members of thehierarchy.

The brokerage 402 typically includes a research department 408 and amarketing department 410. The marketing department 410 is typicallyresponsible for providing to the clients and advisors brokerage-relatedinformation such as recommendations, upcoming events, RRSP calculators,and the like. The research department 408 is responsible for providinginformation that might benefit the clients 406 such as investmenttrends, mergers and acquisitions, mineral deposit discoveries, and thelike. Generally this information is forwarded to the advisors 404, whoin turn selectively forward it to the clients 406. Furthermore, datastreams 412 providing headline news, stock quotes, and other externaldata sources are provided for the advisors 404 and clients 406. In somecases, the advisors 404 may also selectively forward such information totheir clients 406.

The advisor 404 selectively forwards information to associated clients406, by either sending to client groups or by choosing clients directlyas recipients. The groups are previously created using predeterminedcriteria such as areas of interest and the like. When the advisorreceives a piece of information relating to a specific industry, theadvisor forwards it to the corresponding client or client group.

The network used to facilitate the above mentioned hierarchy isdescribed as follows. The system is stored and run from a computerserver that is coupled to the World Wide Web (WWW). The server isprovided with security measures, which are well known in the art, toprevent intruders from gaining access to client information. Each of thebrokerage, advisors, and clients can access the system using aweb-browser such as Netscape™ or Internet Explorer™. If the server islocated at a remote location, then the brokerage, advisors, and clientscan each access the system via the Internet using a personal computer,personal digital assistant, mobile telephone, and the like. Alternately,if the server is located at the brokerage, the brokerage and the advisormay be connected via the Intranet as well as having Internet access.Such network access is known and modifications will be apparent to aperson skilled in the art.

The advisor navigates to a web site provided by the system and logs in.Upon logging in, the advisor is presented with a web page. Referring toFIG. 5, a block drawing representing the web page is illustratedgenerally by the numeral 500. The web page is displayed in a framesformat, wherein different portions of a screen contain different webpages. The screen is divided into a menu frame 502, an options frame504, a main frame 506, and a logo frame 508. The menu frame 502 providesthe advisor with a plurality of different information screens. Theoptions frame provides the advisor with further options and providesspace for advertising, a stock ticker, and the like. The main frame isused to present information to the user. The logo frame 508 typicallyincludes the logo of the brokerage for which the advisor works.

The menu frame is divided into subsections, each of which corresponds tothe type of information it contains. A first section 502 a relates toinformation between the advisor and the clients. A second section 502 brelates to information between the brokerage and the clients. A thirdsection 502 c relates to information between the advisor and thebrokerage. A fourth section 502 d relates to information for the advisoronly.

An example of the type of information provided in each section isdescribed as follows. The first section 502 a includes information aboutthe advisor, newsletters, market trends, investment tips, and the like.

The second section 502 b includes general information such asinformation about the brokerage, available products and services, marketupdates, new issues, economic indicators, currency exchange rates,investment calculators, mutual fund guides, newsletters, and the like.

The third section 502 c includes information for the advisor such asdaily updates, investment tips, upgrades and downgrades, new issues,recommended lists, restricted lists, economic indicators, research,mutual fund guides and the like.

The fourth section 502 d includes personal information for the advisorsuch as portfolio tracking, stock watches, favorite stocks, clientstatistics and sales reports, and the advisor's preferences includingtype of alert, research and news interests and the like.

Two of the options available to the advisor in the options frame 504 area “what's new” option and a “create” option. The “what's new” optionpresents to the advisor any new or unread items. Typically the “what'snew” option will be presented as a default to the advisor upon loggingin.

The “create” option provides the advisor with a submenu. Referring toFIG. 5, the submenu is represented generally by the numeral 506. Thesubmenu has several options including creating new clients, organizingclients in groups, selecting top stock or mutual fund choices,organizing date-related events, initiating discussions, creatingbulletins, adding reminders, recommending web sites to clients, creatingcontent for the first section 502 a of the web page, and the like.

Similar to the advisor, the client navigates to a web site provided bythe system and logs in. Upon logging in, the client is presented with aweb page. Referring to FIG. 6, a block drawing representing the web pageis illustrated generally by the numeral 600. The web page is displayedin a frames format, wherein different portions of a screen containdifferent web pages. The screen is divided into a menu frame 602, anoptions frame 604, a main frame 606, and a logo frame 608. The menuframe 602 provides the client with a plurality of different informationscreens. The options frame provides the client with further options andprovides space for advertising, a stock ticker, and the like. The mainframe is used to present information to the client. The logo frame 508typically includes the logo of the brokerage providing the service tothe client.

The menu frame is divided into subsections, each of which corresponds tothe type of information it contains. A first section 602 a relates toinformation between the advisor and the clients. A second section 602 brelates to information between the brokerage and the clients. A thirdsection 602 c relates to information for the client only.

Sections 602 a and 602 b contain the same information as sections 502 aand 502 b described above. Section 602 c includes information regardingthe setting of alerts, determining which stocks to watch, customizingservices provided by the advisor (including areas of interest),customizing research, editing favorite links, managing a personalfinancial portfolio (including funds held outside of the brokerage) andthe like.

The client is also provided with the “what's new” and “create” optionsas described above. Furthermore, the client is provided with an “executetrade” option and a “customize services” option. Typically, the “What'sNew” option will be presented as a default to the client upon loggingin.

The “customize services” option allows the client to customize theservices provided by the system and the advisor. The client selects howquickly he or she is to be alerted once his or her advisor or the firm.Alternately, the advisor can set up the system such that the data feeds412 are provided to the client. The client may select to be alertedeither immediately, after a certain amount of delay, or at certain timeintervals. The client also has the option of determining how the alertswill be sent. The alerts may be sent either via a pop-up box (orwindow), email, facsimile, telephone, or other wireless devices.Furthermore, the client is able to subscribe to a particular industry ofinterest by selecting an industry group.

The “execute trade” option allows the client to trade on-line. Thisoption provides an interface with an on-line trading engine. The detailsof the trade will depend on the particular on-line trading engine usedand is known in the art.

The functionality of the system will now be described with reference toFIGS. 7 through 13. Referring to FIG. 7, a flowchart illustrating theprocess by which an advisor creates a client group is shown. The advisorselects the “create” option from the options frame and the “create”submenu is presented to the advisor. The advisor selects a “ClientGroup” option and is presented with a form for entering groupinformation.

The advisor enters information such as a name of the group and a name toappear as a folder on the client desktop. The folder name and group namemay be the same. The advisor selects the desired clients from a list ofclient names and the clients are added to the group. Further, theadvisor may select an existing group to add to the group that is beingcreated, in which case all the clients in the existing group are addedto the new group.

If the advisor does not already have a group with the selected groupname, then the group is created and saved by the system. Otherwise, theadvisor will be prompted to enter a different name and the group will becreated accordingly by the system.

Referring to FIG. 8, the process with which an advisor can create adynamic group is illustrated. A dynamic group differs from the typicalgroup in that rather than associating specific clients to a group, theadvisor can associate client characteristics to a group. Thesecharacteristics include the client's net worth, the client's age, theclient's investment status, the client's cash on hand, and the like.

The advisor selects the “create” option from the options frame, whichpresents the “create” submenu. The advisor selects a “Dynamic Group”option from the submenu and is provided with a form for entering thegroup information. The group information includes the group name and thespecific criteria for forming the group and this information is saved.

The advisor can then select this group in the same manner as any grouphaving fixed clients. When the advisor selects the group, the systemsearches through all of the advisor's current clients and adds each ofthe clients meeting the criteria to the list of recipients. Therefore,the group changes dynamically for each message sent by the advisor.

The advisor can view information and forward it to specific clients asdesired. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 9 illustrates the steps takenby an advisor in order to forward information to a client. In thisparticular example the information is a news item. After logging in, theadvisor is presented with the advisor interface. The advisor selects a“headline news” option. The “headline news” options presents the advisorwith a list of current news headlines. The advisor selects a particularheadline and the corresponding news article is presented in the mainframe. The advisor determines whether or not the news is relevant orimportant to any clients. If the news is irrelevant to any of theadvisor's clients, the advisor has the option of reading more news orperforming another function.

If the advisor wishes to read more news, the advisor reselects “headlinenews” and begins the review process again. If the advisor believes thatsome clients will find the news relevant or important, the advisor cansend the news item to these clients. The advisor clicks a buttonassociated with the news item entitled “Send to Clients” which enablesthe advisor to forward the news item to selected clients. The advisorselects the appropriate client group or groups to receive the news item.

Further, the advisor can also select individuals who are not part of theaforementioned groups and who the advisor believes are interested inreading the news item. If an individual recipient is selected that isalready part of a group that was selected, the system, will only sendthe information once to that intended recipient. The advisor forwardsthe news item to the selected clients by selecting a “send” option.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a flowchart illustrating a typical processthat a client undertakes in order to review an information itemforwarded by the advisor is shown. Once again, the information item inthis example is a news item. Upon logging in, the client is presentedwith the client interface, which includes any new or unread items. Theclient selects a particular item to read by clicking on its headline.The corresponding article is presented to the client to read. Once theclient has read the news item, the item is automatically organized andsaved in a folder for the client.

The name of the folder where the news item is stored for the client isdetermined by the folder name selected by the advisor while setting upthe group. Typically, the folder name will correspond to the type ofinformation in the news item, which is determined by the user group towhich the news item is forwarded by the advisor. For example, if thenews item relates to an increase in oil prices, the advisor wouldtypically forward such information to a group that the advisor createdcalled “Oil and Gas”. The Oil and Gas group contains all the clientsinterested in events related to oil and gas. Once those clients reviewthe news item it is stored in a folder called “Oil and Gas” and can beretrieved at a later time.

The client can then decide whether or not it is beneficial, based on thenews item, to contact the advisor. If the client does not feel it isbeneficial to contact the advisor, the client can read other unread ornew news items by selecting the “What's New” option. This option returnsthe client to the screen that displays any new or unread news items. If,however, the client does not want to read more new or unread news items,the client can log out of the system or select another menu button asdesired.

If the client does indeed feel it is beneficial to contact the advisor,the client may do so using a telephone or by sending or responding to anon-line message. Referring to FIG. 11, a flowchart illustrating theprocess for sending an on-line message is shown. The client selects the“create” option on the menu. This action provides the client with the“create” submenu. The client creates a new message by selecting the“discussion” option from the submenu. The client is provided with a formfor inputting information such as the subject matter of the message, themessage itself a list of possible attachments, and the like. Once themessage is complete, the client clicks “Send” to send it to the advisor.

Referring to FIG. 12, the flowchart is shown illustrating the processthe advisor follows in responding to a client's on-line message. Whenthe advisor views any new information, either by logging on or byselecting the “what's new” option from the options frame, the advisor ispresented with a list of unread items. Among these items is the unreadmessage from the client. The advisor selects the unread message andreads the client's comments regarding the news story. The advisor maychoose to respond to the client either, using the telephone orresponding on-line, or to create a reminder item to remind himself orherself to contact that particular client at a later time.

Referring once again to FIG. 11, the advisor responds to the client'smessage by clicking the respond button on the message. The advisorprovides the message content in response to the client's concern orcomment, and then sends the message.

The above mentioned messaging functionality is similar to thefunctionality provided by typical e-mail systems. However, the messagingsystem is integrated into the overall system and neither the client northe advisor needs to use an additional piece of software. Further, theclient does not need to remember any e-mail addresses since whenever anew message is created it is automatically sent to the advisor since theclient is not aware of the existence of any other clients. Unlikee-mail, all communication is facilitated through the secure servers andnot the public Internet, maintaining confidentiality.

The distribution of e-mail by the advisor is similar to the distributionof news. The advisor is presented with a list of groups that has beencreated by the advisor or the brokerage. The list further includes theadvisor's client names. The client's names may be associated with acorresponding client e-mail, or with the client's address in the system.The advisor determines the recipients of the e-mail by selecting clientor groups of clients from the list. This messaging system isparticularly useful for allowing the clients to select one or more of aplurality of different ways to be contacted by the advisor. The clientmay be contacted either by e-mail, telephone, facsimile, pop-up window,or wireless device.

Further, the system automatically organizes and stores the on-linemessages in appropriate focus. For example, all the messages from aclient to an advisor will be automatically stored for the advisor in acorresponding client file. Therefore, if an advisor would like to reviewan on-line message previously received from a client that the advisorhad already read, the advisor would go to the folder associated withthat particular client. The associated folder would be named in such amanner that it can uniquely identify the particular client. Suchidentifiers include the client's name, a file number, a telephonenumber, and the like. If a communication contains multiple discussionitems sent back-and-forth between the advisor and the client, each itemwill be listed in a thread underneath the initial discussion item.

At the client side, all on-line messages sent to the client from theadvisor are stored in a folder associated with the advisor. Typicallythe folder will have a title such as “Messages from My Advisor”.

Referring to FIG. 13, the advisor has the further option to create amenu button that will be located in the first section of the menu framethat is dedicated to information transfer between the advisor and theclient. The advisor selects the “create” option selects a “button”option from the “create” submenu. The advisor is provided with a formfor entering the button information. The button information includes aname for the button, a content type to be associated with the button,and specific content of a predetermined type. The content type includesInternet addresses such as unique resource locator (URL) links, as wellas files or text.

The advisor saves the created button. If the button name does notalready exist then the system creates the button and the new button isdisplayed to the client in the menu upon log-in. If the button name doesexist then the user is prompted to either to change the name of thebutton or to overwrite the existing button. If the advisor changes thename of the button to another name, which does not exist, then the newbutton is created and will appear on the client's desktop upon log-in.If the new name does exist, the advisor will again be prompted to eitherrename the button or to replace the existing button. This will continueuntil the button is created or the user aborts the process.

If a URL link is selected as the content type, the advisor enters theURL link as the content of the predetermined type. When the clientclicks on the button associated with the URL link, the web pageassociated with the particular URL link is presented to the user in themain frame.

If the content type is a file, the name and location of the file isentered into the content of predetermined type. When the client selectsthe button, the associated file, such as an Adobe™ PDF file, will bepresented to the client in the main frame.

If the content type is text, then the actual text that the advisorwishes the client to view is entered into the content of thepredetermined type section. When the client selects the button, the textentered by the advisor will be displayed to the client in the mainframe. Other content types will be apparent to a person skilled in theart.

In alternate embodiments, the hierarchical system is greater than thethree-tier system described in the previous embodiment. An additionallevel can be added between the advisors and the brokerage. This levelcan be assigned to managers who are responsible for a plurality ofadvisors.

Alternately, an additional level could be added on top of the brokerage.A large investment group can provide its services to a plurality ofbrokerages. In such an embodiment, the investment group provides itsinformation to the brokerages that, in turn, provides the information tothe advisors and clients.

Alternately, an additional step could be inserted into the process ofsending an item from an advisor to a client, in which a designated thirduser may read the item before it reaches the client and may release itto the client after acknowledging it as acceptable communication. Thethird user is typically a Compliance Officer of the firm.

Referring to FIG. 14, a flowchart illustrating a sample complianceprocedure is shown. Before the firm or the advisor (referred to as thesender) sends information to the clients, the information is passedthrough a firm maintained filter. The filter is typically maintained bythe firm's compliance department and is used to automatically search forkeywords that might present a problem. If the filter detects no problem,the information is passed to a switch for determining if it is to bereviewed.

The switch is defined for the sender based on the required compliancemode. If the compliance mode does not require information to bereviewed, it is marked as such and sent to the desired destination,which is typically the client. If the compliance mode does require theinformation to be reviewed, a reviewer is alerted.

The reviewer examines the information to ensure it is approved beforesending it to the client. If the examiner approves the information, itis marked as such and released to the client. If the examiner does notapprove the information, comments as to why the information has beendisapproved are added, and the information is returned to the sender.Further, once information has been either approved or disapproved, amessage indicating the status of the information is sent to the sender.

If, however, the information does match the criteria established by thefilter, the filter uses the matching criteria to determine whether theinformation is to be sent to a compliance officer or the reviewer. Ifthe information is sent to a reviewer, it follows the same procedure asdescribed above. If the information is sent to a compliance officer, thecompliance officer follows the same procedure as the reviewer.

In yet an alternate embodiment, the invention is applied tocommunication between a company president and the company's stakeholders(such as employees, suppliers and shareholders). The president groups,and communicates with, stakeholders according to their role and the typeof information that would be relevant to each of them. The stakeholdersbenefit from being able to easily manage issues such as productdirection as communicated by the president, as well as news, research,quotes, policies and procedures, and company news from both the companyand external sources. The information provided by the president ismaintained in a portfolio, which benefits shareholders and suppliers byindicating their stake or accounts with the company. In yet an alternateembodiment, the invention is applied to communication between a holdingcompany such as an incubator, the holding company's accountrepresentatives, and subsidiaries of the company, as overseen by therepresentatives. The account representatives group and communicate withsubsidiaries according to various criteria. The subsidiary benefits byhaving a method of staying in constant contact with their accountrepresentative. They benefit greatly by being able to go to one placefor specific business advice and information about market issues,further financing options, possible partnering opportunities and eventslike technology tradeshows, as distributed by the account representativeand the holding company's marketing department.

In yet an alternate embodiment, the invention is applied tocommunication between an electricity company, its advisors/accountrepresentatives and large consumers of electricity. The consumers arelooking for advice about how to keep energy costs as low as possible, soelectricity companies are employing advisors to advise the consumers onkeeping low costs and similar issues. The electricity company benefitsfrom increased customer loyalty since the advisors are able to group andcommunicate with customers to disseminate information that is relevantto each customer, such as specific advice on how to decrease electricityusage in certain situations. Research and News are incorporated forallowing customers to learn of new developments in energy technology,and for further maintaining customer loyalty to the electricity company.

In yet an alternate embodiment, the invention is applied tocommunication between members of a trade organization, afacilitator/chair, and employees of the trade organization. Thefacilitator communicates with members according to status or geography,and relays information such as meeting minutes and agendas, policyagreements, new ideas, and copies of presentations. The organizationemployees and members communicate directly about issues such asmembership dues, extracurricular activities and the like.

In yet an alternate embodiment, the invention is applied tocommunication between an insurance firm, its agents, and its clients.The clients seek advice as to how to best manage their insurancepolicies. The insurance agent communicates with clients individually, orvia topic groups targeting information about new laws, policy changes,and costs. The firm communicates with clients about claims, billing,special offers and surveys.

Therefore, it is shown that the system and methods described herein haveapplication in a plurality of circumstances. In general, the system canbe implemented for a situation where there is need for a communicationsystem between an organization, the organization's experts orfacilitators, and a number of clients, customers or colleagues. Theorganization typically seeks to achieve customer loyalty by providingthe expert/facilitators' expertise and effort to maintain or better theclient's business, financial or personal situation.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the specificationare used as terms of description and not of limitations, there is nointention in the use of such terms and expressions to exclude anyequivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, butit is recognized that various modifications are possible within thescope of the claims to the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for managing at least one collaborativeonline space over a network, comprising: providing over the network agroup creation template with which primary users can interact over thenetwork to create one or more collaborative online spaces, wherein thespaces are configured to provide a plurality of online activities tousers of the spaces; creating the collaborative online space inaccordance with user interaction with the collaborative online spacetemplate; and providing the group access to the created collaborativespace.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprises: storing informationreceived from user interaction with the group creation template, whereinthe information represents one or more groups of secondary users for aparticular collaborative online space.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: providing to a personal space owner, online access to apersonal space that is configured to provide a plurality of viewsconfigured with electronic resources for or about the personal spaceowner, wherein the personal space owner is one of the primary orsecondary users, wherein different views of the plurality of viewsrestrict access to portions of the electronic resources based onedifferent access levels of users requesting the access.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein creating of the collaborative online space is furtherbased on the stored access levels.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein thefirst view is further configured to provide: a communication interfacefor the owner to electronically communicate with at least one of theother primary users or secondary users.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the plurality of view comprises: a second view configured toprovide an external user at least one of (a) information about thepersonal space owner or (b) an electronic contact mechanism tocommunicate with the personal space owner.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of online activities comprises use of anelectronic bulletin board, chat room, calendar, contact database, changecontrol, event planner, group discussion, issue management, projectcollaboration, presentation library, a decision survey in a box, NGSproposal development, document manager or a custom application providedby at least one of the users.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: providing to the personal space owner, an online interfacethat provides: the plurality of views configured with electronicresources for or about the personal space owner, and other views ofpersonal spaces of different owners.
 9. The method of claim 7, whereinthe interface provides access to the other views via a user directory,wherein the user directory provides links to the other views of eachuser in the user directory.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein creatingthe collaborative online space in accordance with user interactionfurther comprises: creating an electronic link to the createdcollaborative online space in the electronic resources available to thepersonal space owner.
 11. A system for managing at least onecollaborative online space over a network, comprising a processorconfigured to perform the following steps: providing over the network agroup creation template with which primary users can interact over thenetwork to create one or more collaborative online spaces, wherein thespaces are configured to provide a plurality of online activities tousers of the spaces; creating the collaborative online space inaccordance with user interaction with the collaborative online spacetemplate; and providing the group access to the created collaborativespace.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the steps further comprise:storing information received from user interaction with the groupcreation template, wherein the information represents one or more groupsof secondary users for a particular collaborative online space.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the plurality of online activities comprisesuse of an electronic bulletin board, chat room, calendar, contactdatabase, change control, event planner, group discussion, issuemanagement, project collaboration, presentation library, a decisionsurvey in a box, NGS proposal development, document manager or a customapplication provided by at least one of the users.
 14. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the steps further comprise: providing to a personalspace owner, online access to a personal space that is configured toprovide a plurality of views configured with electronic resources for orabout the personal space owner, wherein the personal space owner is oneof the primary or secondary users, wherein the plurality of viewscomprises: a first view configured to provide the owner links to atleast one of the collaborative online space to which the owner hasaccess; and a second view configured to provide an external userinformation about the personal space owner and a contact mechanism tothe personal space owner, wherein different views of the plurality ofviews restrict access to portions of the electronic resources based onedifferent access levels of users requesting the access.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the steps further comprises: providing to thepersonal space owner, an online interface that provides the plurality ofviews configured with electronic resources for or about the personalspace owner, and other views of personal spaces of different owners,wherein the interface provides access to the other views via a userdirectory, wherein the user directory provides links to the other viewsof each user in the user directory.
 16. The system of claim 14, whereincreating the collaborative online space in accordance with userinteraction further comprises: creating an electronic link to thecreated collaborative online space in the electronic resources availableto the personal space owner.
 17. A processor readable medium formanaging at least one collaborative online space over a network,comprising processor executable instructions that when executed by aprocessor causes the processor to perform the following steps: providingover the network a group creation template with which primary users caninteract over the network to create a collaborative online space,wherein the space is configured to provide a plurality of onlineactivities to users of the spaces; and providing the group access to thecollaborative online space in accordance with user interaction with thecollaborative online space template.
 18. The processor readable mediumof claim 17, wherein the plurality of online activities comprises use ofan electronic bulletin board, chat room, calendar, contact database,change control, event planner, group discussion, issue management,project collaboration, presentation library, or a decision survey in abox.
 19. The processor readable medium of claim 17, wherein the stepsfurther comprise: providing to a personal space owner, online access toa personal space that is configured to provide a plurality of viewsconfigured with electronic resources for or about the personal spaceowner, wherein the personal space owner is one of the primary orsecondary users, wherein the plurality of views comprises: a first viewconfigured to provide the owner links to at least one of thecollaborative online space to which the owner has access; and a secondview configured to provide an external user information about thepersonal space owner and a contact mechanism to the personal spaceowner, wherein different views of the plurality of views restrict accessto portions of the electronic resources based one different accesslevels of users requesting the access.
 20. The processor readable mediumof claim 19, wherein the steps further comprises: providing to thepersonal space owner, an online interface that provides the plurality ofviews configured with electronic resources for or about the personalspace owner, and other views of personal spaces of different owners,wherein the interface provides access to the other views via a userdirectory, wherein the user directory provides links to the other viewsof each user in the user directory.